1. Field
Embodiments relate to a mobile robot system to restrict a traveling region of a robot and to guide the robot to another region, and a method of controlling the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a mobile robot is a device to perform an operation while autonomously traveling in a traveling region without user control. A robot cleaner which is a mobile robot sucks foreign materials such as dust from a floor while autonomously traveling in a predetermined cleaning region, such as a home or office, so as to perform a cleaning operation.
In order to allow the mobile robot to perform the operation, the mobile robot is prevented from escaping from the traveling region. A virtual wall unit (hereinafter, referred to as a “beacon”) to prevent the mobile robot from entering a border (e.g., a doorway or a division between a living room and a kitchen) of the traveling region is provided so as to restrict the traveling region of the mobile robot.
The beacon to restrict the traveling region of the mobile robot continuously transmits an infrared ray (IR) signal to the border of the traveling region so as to generate a beam region. The mobile robot changes a traveling direction thereof so as not to cross the beam region when the IR signal is detected while the mobile robot travels in order to perform the operation, thereby performing avoidance navigation. The mobile robot performs avoidance navigation only when the signal transmitted from the beacon is detected. However, since the beacon continuously transmits the signal even when the mobile robot is not in a signal arrival range of the beacon, high power for transmitting the signal is unnecessarily wasted. Due to the unnecessary power consumption, a battery of the beacon is frequently charged and thus is frequently replaced with a new battery. Thus, a user may be dissatisfied with the life span of the battery.